From 19April, Laurent Pelly’s vivacious production of La Fille du régimentreturns to The Royal Opera.

A mix of military bravura and aristocratic pomposity, the production is famed for its inventive physical comedy and its visual pizzazz.

From the comically pretentious Marquise to the bullish Duchess, the production combines athletic singing and energetic performances.

The opera follows the story of Marie, a tomboy raised by a regiment of French soldiers and dragged into high society by her long-lost mother. It's an opera that is known for its fiendishly difficult vocals – in particular the nine consecutive top Cs in the Act I tenor aria.